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Navigator
The primary purpose of the left sidebar is navigation within your library and playlists, but it has several other features worth checking out. Navigation Panel The navigation panel is the only non-optional piece of the left sidebar. All navigation nodes and subnodes, except for two that are permanent (Library and Music) and two that are automatic (Downloads and Devices), can be enabled or disabled via Layout Preferences. Here is the panel with all possible options: Library Typically, the library encompasses all files in your collection. Multiple libraries are possible, but most common divisions are handled by library nodes and user-defined filters. Except for History and Bookmarks, all library nodes are mutually exclusive. A file cannot be in both the Inbox and the Music library, for example. Each node has its own unique features, explained below. Music This is where most of your audio files are likely to be stored. Anything added "to the library" goes here by default. The only exceptions are files with the iTunes Audiobook tag or the iTunes Podcast tag, which will cause them to be diverted to the appropriate node. The most unique and powerful feature of the Music node is that you can subdivide it into categories that you create, called filters. See Filters for details. If you right click on this node, you will get some extra menu options: If filters are hidden, you can choose a filter from the right click menu. If they are shown, you only need to click on the filter to switch to it. Here's an example of the Music node with a few filters ("No Filter" is included automatically): The red circle marks a spot where you can click to hide the filters again temporarily, the same way you open and close other nodes. Bookmarks Bookmarks refer to bookmarks in audio files, not internet bookmarks. They can be used, for instance, to mark your stopping place in an audiobook or podcast that you haven't finished listening to, or to mark a section of music that you want to refer back to. To create a bookmark, use the bookmark hotkey (Ctrl+D by default). If you use it once, then stop playback or start a new track, it will be saved as a start point and will play the rest of the track from that point. If you use it twice, you will create a start point and an end point within the track. You can create more than one bookmark in a track, but you must close one to start another. You will find each bookmark in the Bookmarks node, with start time and end time listed. You can play them like normal tracks. Podcasts The Podcast node is optimized for podcasts, of course. Each podcast is shown as a collapsible list, and new episodes are marked with a dot. The normal Configure Layout menu in the toolbar is replaced with podcast-related options: "exclude listened tracks" to hide old episodes from the list, "exclude tracks not downloaded" to hide episodes which aren't currently available. Right clicking on Podcasts in the navigation panel gives options to import and export your subscription list as an .xml file, to add a new subscription by URL, and to access a podcast directory. This is the pop-up for creating a new subscription (you get the same window pre-filled if you subscribe to a podcast from the directory): Audiobooks The Audiobooks node functions basically like the Music node, except without filters. It is intended to separate Audiobooks (or other non-music files, if you wish) from the Music Library. Video You can use MusicBee to manage video as well as audio files. Videos scanned with the Rescan/Add Files command will be placed directly into the Video node. If you wish to use MusicBee to play videos, see the Video Plugin. You can also configure an external video player through Player Preferences. Radio The Radio node is designed to help you find and save internet radio stations. Inbox The Inbox is intended as a holding area that you can send your new files to from a folder scans, downloads, and cd rips. This allows you to do any kind of review or editing that you'd like to do on them before moving them into your library. You can drag-and-drop files from the inbox to any other node, or you can select tracks, right click, and choose Send To > Music Library. You can also configure a hotkey for this command. History The History node shows recently played tracks, which by default are sorted from most to least recent. Downloads The downloads node appears, naturally enough, whenever files are being downloaded. This may include podcasts, tracks saved from Auto-DJ streams, and tracks downloaded directly from the internet. Playlists These can contain files from any of the above categories, so are not just subcategories of your music. There are three types of playlists: *Static Playlists (or just "Playlists"): the user adds and removes all tracks *Auto-Playlists: dynamic, automatically update their contents based on criteria *Playlist Mixers (formerly “Radio Playlists”): chooses a specified number of random tracks based on criteria, then clears the list on completion and chooses more. Furthermore, MB situates the Now Playing list and the Auto-DJ function in the Playlists category. Neither of these can be renamed or deleted. When viewing the Now Playing list, the Now Playing Panel will disappear from the right panel (or wherever else you have positioned it). You can add or remove tracks to this as if it were a playlist, and save it as a library playlist for future use (Right-Click > List > Save as Library Playlist). Internet Website bookmarks. The two default folders for these are “Services” and “MP3 Blogs”, but you can add any website by bookmarking using the icon at right-hand end of the address bar. You add, remove and rename bookmark folders using the right-click menu Computer A tree navigator for your computer’s folders and files. Can also contain network shares. These folders can be filtered via the right-click menu. Devices Only visible if a device is connected. Allows browsing of MTP and MSC devices, including playlists, podcasts and audiobooks. Library Explorer Images Right clicking anywhere in the navigation panel will bring up this menu, showing the other options: Now Playing Panel Moving this panel to the left sidebar will disable the other artwork display options.